Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Unsubscribing Times: All Those ‘Reassuring’ Emails From Companies Can Just Pile On More Anxiety

At first, people seemed to feel safer after receiving emails about steps companies are taking to protect them. But now for many it's become way too much and they're not even opening them, The Wall Street Journal reports. Technology news is on scams increasing, testing and privacy concerns rising, and new business trends emerging, as well.

The Wall Street Journal:
Coronavirus Emails From Companies May Not Be Calming To Customers
Before Washington state banned eating at restaurants as part of an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Kathleen Fearn-Banks got an email from a restaurant in her Seattle neighborhood explaining how it was keeping things clean. Ms. Fearn-Banks, an associate professor at the University of Washington and the author of “Crisis Communications,” was so impressed that she wrote back to applaud its efforts and visited the restaurant soon after. (Kornelis, 3/23)

The Washington Post:
Scam Robocalls Are Targeting Vulnerable Americans With Fake Coronavirus Tests
The deadly coronavirus outbreak has shuttered schools and businesses, wreaked havoc on the stock market and left some grocery store shelves bare. And if that isn’t enough, it’s also spawned a swarm of scam robocalls seeking to prey on Americans’ fears. Every day for the past week, fraudsters have placed an estimated 1 million or more suspected suspicious calls about the coronavirus to Americans’ smartphones, according to YouMail, which offers an app that blocks such unwanted telecom intrusions. (Romm, 3/19)

Modern Healthcare:
Alphabet's COVID-19 Project Underscores Privacy Concerns With Big Tech
A new COVID-19 project from one of Google’s sister companies is the latest big-tech foray into healthcare to spark privacy concerns. Verily Life Sciences, a research subsidiary of Alphabet, last week released a website designed to screen users for COVID-19 risk—and, for those who qualify, point them to mobile testing sites set up by the company. It’s part of Project Baseline, a data initiative Verily launched in 2017 to support clinical research and collect enough data to one day “map” human health. (Cohen, 3/21)

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